'Love one another as I have loved you.' John 15:12

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Reading: 1 John 3: 1-12

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” (John 15.12)

Christ’s command is that we should love one another, which seems such an obvious thing for us to do, and yet even at that we so often fail. It sometimes seems that it’s easier to be judgemental than it is to be loving. People say that they long for Revival, and yet fail to be revived themselves enough to follow Christ’s commandment in this respect. It’s so easy to love the people whom we know and like, but when it comes to loving those who we don’t like we have a problem. Yet Christ’s commandment is that we should love one another in the same manner in which he loves us.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour then we are also called to acknowledge Him as our Lord, and that means following His commandments and following His life-style. In other words, we are to become more like Christ as we mature in the faith.

When we are reconciled to God through Christ we become children of God and fellow heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16/17). This privileged position is open to every believer.

The Christian life is never going to be the ‘easy option’. There are many aspects of it which are easy for us to do, that’s for sure. We can read the Bible, pray, mix with other Christians, do our best to keep the commandments, and so on, but when it comes to facing up to the world in which we live it becomes much harder.

“Love on another as I have loved you”. That’s the Christian thing to do, because that’s what Christ Himself has commanded us to do. In a perfect world it would be so easy! However, we live in the real world, where resentment, anger, grudges and violence often dominate the daily news and impinge on our daily lives. We are told to love people as Christ loves us, and that means loving them sacrificially, not just on the surface. Christ loved us so much that He gave up His life that we might be reconciled to God by believing on Him and acknowledging Him as our Saviour and Lord. The love of Christ is a sacrificial love.  It doesn’t come easy.

Every day we hear stories of people not being loved. We hear of people being  killed, raped, bullied, terrorised, abused, divorced, sued, and these things happen to everyone, in the home, in the office and in the school, whether or not they are Christians. Even in churches there are examples of hypocritical attitudes, and areas of dissension. When you read the Bible, you’ll quickly find that what happens in the real world also happens in the lives of Christian. People are not getting along with each other as they should. Many are living with hatred, which the Bible equates as murder in their hearts. It seems like our world is overrun with the Cain syndrome. In short, real Christian love is rare. That’s a real problem. We have so few models of real Christian love. We hardly know what real Christian love is all about. Jesus Christ demonstrated and taught what real Christian love is: We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16). Jesus meant business when he showed us what love is. Mankind broke the rules laid down by God, and Jesus chose to forgive, coming and die in our place. In his sacrifice we see the greatest example of love in action that is possible to see. The Bible teaches us in 1 John 2:2 “He Himself is the propitiation (the satisfaction) for our sins; and not only for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

Love means allowing for growth through failure, looking towards future potential. Love means not expecting that other people will get it, the first time, and maybe not even the second time or third time. Love means forgiving people and knowing in your heart that people are worth it. Love is understanding that different people are at different stages of their journey, whether it be their journey through life in general or their Christian journey, and understanding that they will often need help along the way. Yet for so many people in and out of the church, their expectation is that real Christian people should get it right the first time. There is no allowance for failure. There’s no room to learn to grow, and this is how we get into trouble.  In the absence of real Christian love ― love the way that Christ loves ― the church becomes restricting and graceless. Rules of how people are expected to behave dominate, and every failure, however slight, becomes ammunition to nail the perpetrators to the door. People may be shown the door instead of being welcomed through the door, simply because they don’t seem to fit the expectations of the rule-makers inside. Instead of the church seeking the lost sinner, it tells the sinner to get lost. This is doing things according to the world and not according to the love demonstrated by Christ, despite claiming to follow Him. How easily some people can become as exacting and calculating as the Pharisees, noting every infraction of the law, to the minutest detail.

In such a congregation the real experience of love, acceptance and forgiveness is almost non-existent, with the result that their version of Christianity becomes joyless and devoid of real hope. The example we have in this passage from 1 John is of Cain who murdered his brother because his brother was righteous.

The truth is that because of Christ’s sacrificial love we have the opportunity to be reborn. When we love Christ then we pass from the death of sinfulness into new life in Christ. His is the example that we have and His is the example that we must follow.

We are children of God! What a wonderful love God has bestowed on us that He should call us His children and we call Him our Father. Once we really get our heads around this concept then we start to understand what real love is all about. The love of Christ is a love that takes hold of us entirely, and allows us to share it equally with others, putting the concerns of others before our own for the sake of Christ. Jesus laid down His life for you. Are you prepared to do the same for Him? If you are then you will experience the amazing power that such love releases.

We are told ‘to love in action and in truth.’ Do you love others as Christ loves you? how are you laying down your life for others?

Could it be that we have not really tasted richly of God’s love? A heart that has not tasted the truth of Christ’s passion and the thrill of the prospect of the transformation that will be(3:2), will have little to give to transform what was hatred into love. 

Look at others through Christ’s love. Love is always building up another person. Maturity is living with the tension of what people can be and what they are now. “Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” Ephesians 4:2 (NLT). Love has the goal of looking after another’s welfare - by doing something tangible. It’s far more than words. We must see others but see each other as new creations (2 Cor.5:16-17) and not measure them by what the world thinks.

When we can learn to love as Jesus loves us then revival will be seen in us, and from this personal experience of revival can come the desire to spend more time with God in prayer. When we do this, constantly maturing in the faith, then we can pray for revival to break out in our midst, but to see this happen there need to be an even greater change of heart.

Whilst I firmly believe that Revival is a miraculous outpouring by God of His Spirit upon a people, I believe that the Church is responsible  to facilitate it in the sense that it is when believers are totally serious about the call for Revival. The church must be in deadly earnest about praying for Revival, and must gather together in prayer as well as praying in private to call upon God to send His Spirit down. It is probable that none of us have seen Revival because we are content with things the way they are. We are content to live without Revival! What is needed now are Christians praying for Revival who are on fire for the Lord. Whilst there may be many who are smouldering I don’t believe that there are enough who are truly on fire. There is a complacency that stands in the way. The riches of the world shine too brightly so that people want to collect them like magpies collecting shiny baubles, and as long as such attractions are dominant then the Lord’s work falls into second place.

So can we hope to see Revival? Can we hope to see our nation rescued from the downward spiral that is gripping it, dragging it deeper and deeper into the pit of despair?

We can when we start to be obedient to all that God demands.

When we:

· Learn to love one another as Christ Himself loves us.

· When we insist on the true gospel being preached in our churches and chapels, and not the watered down, cheapened versions that are so   often offered.

· When we value the privileges that come with being the children of God, and honour the responsibilities that accompany them.

· When we are prepared to pray in earnest; prayer that is accompanied by brokenness and pleading before God.

· When we give God the glory that belongs to Him, rather than seeking to take some of it upon ourselves.

Revival comes when people prepare themselves for it, pray earnestly for it and expect it. The first stage  in such preparation is being obedient to all that we are commanded to do, and a priority in that is to love one another with a sacrificial love. Not only because we like someone, but even when we find it hard to like them Not because we want them to love us back, but because we want to improve their lives as a result of our loving them. Completely and unconditionally.

When we can do that then not only will our lives be changed but we will see the lives of those around us changed too.

Amen

Sermon on Romans 1: 18-25

FREEDOM IN CHRIST

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us

(1 John 1:8)

      When we consider our attempts to enter into fellowship with God, the great problem that stands in our way is the age-old problem of sin.  How are the ‘sons-of-men’ to become the ‘sons-of-God’?  Mankind is considered to be higher than other creatures, and this is where the root of the problem exists.  It’s different from the relationship between lower life and God because the matter of human will is involved.  The higher the ambition that God held for human beings, the greater the problem introduced by free will, given in order to form character in people.  God has given, by the means of free will, the opportunity to make a choice between good and evil, and whilst this affords mankind great opportunity it also provides the opportunity to fall from grace through sin.

      The Bible attributes people’s sins to their wilful abuse of free will.  Paul, in writing to the Roman Christians, outlined the truth concerning humanity’s plight as sinners.  Speaking to the church at Rome, Paul refers to those Jews who abused the privileges granted by God to their race because they could and should have become a guiding light to those in darkness.

      We find no differentiation between large or small sins, for to God all sin is SIN.  Sin involves the total person, both the mental and the physical aspects of our being.  It’s at the very heart of self-centredness.  The New Testament appraisal of sin is that sin in the flesh describes a condition of separation from God arising from wrong choices of lifestyle.  Sin in your bodies means sin in your personal being; and the expression of sin in your soul is also referring to oneself, or person.  That the soul, or person, sinning shall die is a warning to the total person.  Paul points out that what the Law was unable to achieve with regards to preventing the body to sin, God Himself did by sending Jesus as our example.  In 8:3 Paul writes, For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.  The word likeness is crucial because it indicates that Jesus was a true man but not a sinful man.  In the Book of Acts, Luke writes that every soul that does not heed the prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people (Acts: 3:23).

      Sin is serious, for it involves the total being.  People are unable in themselves to solve their problems.  Their whole beings are adversely affected.  Sin invades their thinking, their will, their sense of values, their natural responses, and their relationships.

      People are in danger of becoming slaves to sin if they fail to curtail their expressions of self-will.  They move from a position of trusting God to self-trust; from obeying God to self-assertion; from serving God to slavery to sin.  We are reminded that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin (Romans 6:6).  In other words, once we accept Christ fully into our lives then we also accept all that He has done for us.  Our old self is made ineffective and impotent  ̶  or dead  ̶  and we have new life in Christ.  We are to all effect, born again. 

      Living is described as serving either good or evil.  People’s acts have repercussions beyond the sensations they momentarily feel.  Their acts are testimonies for God or for Satan.  The constant plea of the New Testament is for people to serve God and thereby find the liberation for which they were created.  When sin is served, humankind’s true desire is denied, their created role is forfeited, and they fall under the bonding of sin and death.  Paul writes that the Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe (Galatians 3:22).  When we serve God in the name of Christ we are liberated from the shackles of sin.

      Humanity’s surrender of sonship to God brings into light their personal responsibility for guilt.  Scripture holds people accountable for their own sin.  It’s not the responsibility of past generations.  People are responsible for the actions of the group of which they are a part.  They are guilty for the environment they help create.  We speak of my country, my town, and my home.  We live in a climate where we seek to find someone to blame, as long as the finger is not pointed towards us.  Situations that we experience or read about or hear about may well draw exclamations of disapproval from us, but how often do we actively choose to do something about it.  We are the authors of our own misfortune if we choose to do nothing in the belief that the situation either doesn’t involve us or could not possibly be changed by our single protest.  I am concerned by reports of our government's intent to deport failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers to Zimbabwe, despite the atrocities being carried out there, and the recognised fact - by everyone it seems except the government -̶  that if these people are returned to Zimbabwe they face imprisonment, torture and probable death.  Yet the government is voted into power by the people and needs to consider the wishes of the people.  How can they do that if we don’t make our wishes known?  And if we fail in that respect, how can we express concern for something that doesn’t interest us enough to act on our concern?

      No person lives to self.  What each of us does has an affect on others, even if we are unaware of that effect.  We have freedom of choice, for that’s what freewill is, the freedom to choose as we see fit.  If we make the wrong choices and go down the path of sin then we have nobody but ourselves to blame, and we must therefore face our sin alone and be answerable for it ourselves.

      Humanity’s great problem is sin.  Whatever other problems in life people may face the greatest problem of all is sin.  The Bible teaches that God holds people accountable for their sin.  People stand alone in solitude for their sin, facing the responsibility of it alone.  Yet God is merciful and just, and He has met this condition with the opportunity for us to make a choice.  Once people are ready to admit that their sin is theirs and theirs alone, then they are ready to meet with Jesus in repentance, seeking forgiveness, and He will bear their sins for them, for Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

HEAVEN OR HELL!

The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.  (Matthew 13: 44)

In the 1930s the comedian Sandy Powell used to open his radio show with the words, “Can you hear me, Mother?” In part this catchphrase is supposed to have originated when he dropped his script in the studio and was filling in the seconds whilst he gathered it together again, but it’s also believed that it was due in part to his mother being hard of hearing. Whatever the reason, one purpose it served was to ensure that people were listening and that they would understand what was said.

In today’s Scripture reading Jesus, having related the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price, asks the disciples whether they have understood what He has been telling them, to which they answer that they have.

Both of these parables indicate the incomparable value of the kingdom, which will encourage people to do everything in their power to possess it.

One common misinterpretation is that Jesus is represented by the pearl of great price, and that the man referred to is a seeking sinner who gives everything that he has in order to obtain salvation, turning his back on everything that he ever had to get to heaven.  The problem with this interpretation is that it infers that salvation can be bought by mankind, when in fact it is only available as a gift from God through Christ. No matter what someone gives up in this life it can never purchase their passage to heaven, unless they are prepared to hand over their life to Jesus Christ. Certainly, true discipleship asks us to give up things and accept Christ, but that is not salvation but sanctification.

This interpretation also indicates that sinners are seeking Jesus, when in fact it is Jesus who seeks sinners. Sin is a natural tendency in people, whilst seeking Jesus of their own volition is not. When we appear to be seeking Jesus it’s due to the Holy Spirit working within us, drawing us towards Jesus, who seeks us to offer us salvation. Scripture says that we are dead in our sins, and a dead person is incapable of seeking anything!

I often say to people who comment, “You’re religious, it’s different for you.” or words to that effect, that I’m not religious, I’m a Christian, which is a different matter altogether. Christianity is defined as God reaching down to mankind, whilst religion is mankind attempting to reach up to God. Paul, quoting from Psalm 14, writes, There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God . . . (Romans 3:11). 

I think that the truest interpretation regarding the parable of the pearl is that the merchant represents Jesus Christ, whilst the church, purchased at enormous cost by Christ, is represented by the pearl. Jesus gave His all for our salvation! It is He who seeks, and He that saves, and we who are the lost sheep until we have been returned safely to the fold.

All this talk about being sinners and like lost sheep, and being offered the gift of salvation, begs the question ‘What do we need to be saved from?’ Ted Turner, the multi-millionaire founder of Turner Broadcasting, once said in a speech, “heaven is perfect. Who wants to go to a place that is perfect? Boring, boring.” Also in late 1989, he told Dallas Morning News that “Christianity is a religion for losers.” Christ died on the cross, but Turner said He shouldn’t have bothered. “I don’t want anybody dying for me. I’ve had a few drinks and a few girlfriends and if that’s going to put me in hell, then so be it.” There spoke a man who could be pretty certain of where he was going, but it’s not a place that anybody should aspire to!

One of the problems that the Church faces today is that so many people who meet regularly within the walls of the local church no longer believe that Hell exists, or that if it does then it’s ferocity and anguish has been over-stated in the past.  Changing the appearance of Hell by describing it differently doesn’t change the reality of it! I’m sure that many travel agents could describe the beauty and wonder of a holiday spent at Basra in Iraq, but it would certainly seem more like hell-on-earth when you got there!

If we cannot accept that Hell exists and that it would be a terrible place to end up, how can we accept that heaven exists and would be a wonderful place to end up? We cannot remove the passages in Scripture that we dislike simply because they don’t suit us. After all, if you tore the page out of your atlas that showed Iraq it wouldn’t mean that it ceased to exist! Today the majority of pulpits are silent when it comes to preaching of Hell because it’s considered old-fashioned and makes people feel uncomfortable. Well, it might be uncomfortable to hear about it, but it will be a lot more uncomfortable to experience it, believe you me! The main reason that people don’t want to think about, or even admit to, hell is that they want to continue with their chosen lifestyle without it being threatened in any way. Talking to them about Heaven and Hell threatens them in a way that makes them really uncomfortable.

We read in the Bible, But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Revelation 21:8).

Just as the Bible gives us the benefit of being warned of the dangers of Hell, so it also gives us clear direction as to how we should avoid it. The only way to avoid Hell is to understand God’s will, and that understanding comes through the preaching and teaching of His word. The more that we read and seek so the more that we understand, and our knowledge is like a series of stepping stones, each one taking us closer to God and nearer to Heaven. If people are to avoid Hell then they, and that includes us, must listen to God’s Word and understand it.

Amongst the many misconceptions that exist today is the belief that if you go to church then you will automatically be ensured a place in heaven. Unfortunately, just because someone goes to church, sings the songs and places money in the offertory, this is no guarantee of entry to Heaven. The only sure way is by believing in Christ and trusting Him for salvation.

Jesus warns that, Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven  (Matthew 21:7).

One thing is for certain, and that is that nobody should learn about the reality of Hell by going there, because then it will be too late to do anything about it. The Church needs to be acting as a matter of urgency, warning people of the dangers of Hell and telling them of the hope that is found in Christ, and in Christ alone.

(Sermon preached by Rev’d Colin Gordon-Farleigh, at St John’s Presbyterian Church, Runcorn, May 4th 2008)

REPENTANCE! by Leonard Ravenhill